


Grand Romantic Gesture

by viceversa



Category: NCIS
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gibbs gets it, Romance, Valentine's Day, they're in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29415180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceversa/pseuds/viceversa
Summary: Rule one of dating on this holiday - send flowers to the office or get dumped. But when the relationship is really serious, Gibbs knew to step it up.
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Comments: 16
Kudos: 67





	Grand Romantic Gesture

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dlodle0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dlodle0/gifts).



> enjoy this absolute fluff for Valentine's Day <3

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a complete idiot when it came to women. He was observant enough to know what mattered and what didn’t, and he did his best to meet those expectations. 

The problem with his relationships stemmed from when he stopped caring - after the vows when he realized that it wasn’t love he was feeling, that another woman wouldn’t fill the hole in his heart. He pushed them away by being absent, by not bothering to remember the important things and by intentionally skipping out on his promises. 

He wasn’t proud of it, and he managed to stop the cycle after ex-wife number three nearly killed him for it. He didn’t need to think about Valentine’s Day or anniversaries or birthdays for years aside from the little things he did for Abby on occasion, which is why February 14th came out of nowhere the year before. 

Gibbs felt that he’d hid his initial feeling of jealousy and frustration when Jack had walked down to the bullpen eating obviously gifted chocolates. He’d tried to play it off with a cheek kiss, but the memory had stayed with him.

It haunted him, actually, all year. Even up to Christmas when he finally manned up and made his move. 

He and Jack had been good. Really good - easy and light, surviving a few rough cases and rougher days in the meantime. He felt _good_ about them, something he’d said nearly unprompted in therapy with Grace, like he was surprised. 

So when Valentine’s Day rolled around once again, he made sure to prepare for it. Rule one of dating on this holiday - send flowers to the office or get dumped. Gibbs slipped out of bed very early that Friday morning, gathered supplies, and went to the office just before she’d get there. He broke into her office with flowers, chocolate, and a coffee from the diner prepared exactly like she liked it. 

He did skip the card, attaching a post-it note to the chocolates that said simply _Happy Valentine’s Day_. Nothing a piece of paper said would say what he wanted anyway, and it would ruin part of the surprise.The Grand Romantic Gesture. Flowers and chocolate were expected as the bare minimum, but a serious relationship required a serious effort. 

He left the gifts in her office and headed out just as his team arrived, all of them hoping to finish their current case before it ruined their plans for that night.

-

Gibbs missed her initial reaction, too busy tracking down suspects and interrogating them. He was sure Jack appeared in the observation room at one point because he could feel her looking at him. 

It wasn’t until later that afternoon, after the usual day shift was gone and the team was finishing up paperwork that he was able to escape upstairs to see her.

He stopped for a second outside her door, steeling himself for what he was planning. 

Jack was focused on typing when he entered and shut the door behind him. The flowers, a classic mix of roses and the small white flowers he’d picked out, had been moved slightly to sit proudly at the edge of her desk so that anyone who walked in would see them before they saw her. 

The chocolate box was gone, either finished or hidden from herself in an attempt to not eat it all at once. He hovered in front of her desk, waiting patiently until she was done writing. 

“Hey Cowboy,” she greeted, looking up at him through her reading glasses. She smiled wide. “Thanks for today.”

He shrugged off the thanks and nodded toward the open card on her desk in question. 

“Faith sent the card, it was really nice. I think she figured you would cover the flowers this year and she was right.”

He nodded at the acknowledgement and tried to figure out how to get to the other part of his gift. “You done for tonight?”

“Yeah, just had to wrap up that last report.” Jack stood and made to start gathering her things. 

“Wait a second, uh,” he said, suddenly filled with nerves and cursing himself for it. He’d tried to prepare for this all week, this Grand Romantic Gesture of giving Jack what she wanted willingly and genuinely, and now he was stumbling. “Wanna sit?”

He moved to her couch without waiting for her response, knowing she’d follow him. 

“What’s going on?” she asked as she sat down next to him. 

The question came out concerned and he shook his head, not wanting her to be worried. “‘S Valentine’s Day,” he tried to explain. “Wanted to give you a good gift, not just the usual.”

Jack relaxed at the explanation but stayed silent, no doubt wondering where this was headed. 

Gibbs turned more toward her and took a breath, double checking that the door was shut.

“When you’re around, that day is better than when you’re not,” he started. “I think about you more than anyone else, and when you show up to my house I’m always glad you’re there and I don’t want you to leave. I know that I don’t… talk like you’d like. And I don’t always tell you everything, but I am now.”

Jack’s mouth was slightly open, but Gibbs barreled onward. 

“Thing is, I’m in love with you. And I’ve said that before to others when I didn’t mean it, and I didn’t say it when I should’ve. But I don’t want you to not know that this, that us, it’s it for me. I’m all in. And I’ll try my best to remember flowers when I need to, and I can’t promise I’ll always talk when I need to but I want you to know, Jack, that I always appreciate you askin’.”

Gibbs stopped, done talking more in a row than he had in a long time. He wondered for a second whether he should be concerned about the tears Jack was obviously holding back, but instead he found himself nearly tackled by her. He threw his arms around her on instinct, not wanting her to fall. 

Jack pulled back just enough to kiss him, then sat back slightly. Her hands came up to frame his face, and she looked seriously into his eyes. 

“I love you too, Jethro,” she said. “And thank you for telling me all of that. I can’t tell you - it means so much to me, everything you said. And I want you to know,” she smiled, “that I don’t always need you to talk, and when I ask I just want you to know I’m here for you, and if you ever want me around to not talk, I’ll be there.”

Gibbs kissed her, then, unable to consider doing anything else. He suddenly had a thousand things on his mind he wanted to tell her, again and again, but he always showed how he felt through action. 

Before that action got too hot for the office, Gibbs gently released her and they both sat back to catch their breaths. 

“Got anything else planned for today?” Jack asked with a laugh, obviously expecting a no. 

Gibbs smirked, cocky, unable to help himself. “Jus’ dinner, at that place you’ve been wantin’ to go. Dessert. Then,” he shrugged, “I figure we could go home and see where you wanna put your stuff when you move in with me.”


End file.
